Cape Air founder Dan Wolf says his company offered paid sick leave from the get-go, and it hasn’t stunted its growth from six to 1,000 employees.

The state senator joined the Massachusetts Paid Leave Coalition this week to call for passage of legislation that would require companies with fewer than six employees to offer up to 40 hours of unpaid sick leave a year, those with 6 to 10 to allow up to 40 of paid sick time, and larger companies to offer up to 56 hours. In a press statement, Wolf noted that the legislation does not apply to seasonal employees.

“We don’t want employees to be forced to make the choice between staying home sick, taking care of a loved one who’s sick, or being able to put food on the table at the end of the week,” Wolf declared in the statement.

The board of directors of the Orleans Chamber of Commerce took a different tack, calling the legislation “just another example of unfunded mandates that would disproportionately impact small businesses.”